Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2011-12: Gustav Forsling played for Linkoping’s U18 and U16 teams and played in three international games with Sweden’s U16 team; representing Ostergotland for the second time in the TV-Pucken tournament. He scored 5 goals with 3 assists and was +9 with 10 penalty minutes in 27 U18 regular season games and was +1 with 1 assist in three playoff games. Forsling scored 1 goal with 12 assists and was +5 with 4 penalty minutes in 16 games with the Linkoping U16 squad. He was +3 with no points nor penalties skating for the Sweden U16 team. Forsling was +3 with 3 assists and 6 penalty minutes in eight TV-Pucken games.

2012-13: Forsling appeared in 15 games, including one playoff game, for Linkoping in the U20 SuperElit league and was an assistant captain for the club’s U18 team. He played for Sweden’s gold medal-winning U17 squad at the 2013 World Hockey Challenge in Canada. Forsling had 1 assist and was +4 with 8 penalty minutes in SuperElit play. Forsling scored 7 goals with 8 assists and was +32 with 20 penalty minutes in 31 regular season games and was -2 with no points or penalty minutes in two playoff games for the Linkoping U18 team. In six games at the WHC he had 2 assists with 2 penalty minutes.

2013-14: Forsling played 44 regular season games and two playoff contests for Linkoping in his first full SuperElit league season and played for Sweden’s U18 team in the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial and 2014 World Junior Championship tournaments. He scored 6 goals with 12 assists and was -3 with 36 penalty minutes during the SuperElite regular season and was -2 with 1 goal, 3 assists and 2 penalty minutes in the playoffs. Forsling played 10 games, including five playoff contests, for Linkoping’s silver medal-winning U18 squad. He scored 4 goals with 3 assists and was -2 with 2 penalty minutes. Forsling was -1 with no points and 6 penalty minutes at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament and led all defensemen at the WJC with 4 goals — finishing +2 with 1 assist and 2 penalty minutes — in seven games. Forsling was ranked 25th amongst European skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was chosen by Vancouver in the fifth round (126th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Talent Analysis

Forsling is an undersized but exciting skating defenseman who excels in the creative aspects of the game. Injuries have been an issue, partially due to his lack of stature, but he has the ability to control the tempo and flow of a game, particularly on the power play. Forsling is able to control the puck and distributes it in a timely fashion. As with many smaller, offensively-inclined defensemen, he is a work in progress when it comes to his positional play in his own end of the ice and he is at a disadvantage against bigger, stronger players in tight areas.

Future

Forsling is playing a key role for Linkoping at the start of his second SHL season in 2015-16. He is expected to play for Sweden at the 2016 World Juniors after captaining the U20 squad at the evaluation camp in Lake Placid. Now in the Blackhawks' organization, Forsling faces stiff competition in securing an entry-level contract and one day working his way into the Chicago lineup one day. He projects as a Sami Vatanen or Torey Krug-type offensive defenseman at the NHL level.

Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman has seen the enormous potential in scouting both European and collegiate players, and nothing shows this more than his recent draft history. In the last two drafts, 12 of Bowman’s 17 selections would skate in either the NCAA or Europe the very next season. There’s clearly no rush to get these young guns to the NHL just yet, so allowing these prospects to perfect their game in their respective leagues has been crucial for their development. Several Blackhawks prospects will also have a chance for an NCAA Championship at the 2015 Frozen Four as well.

Photo: 2011 first-round pick Mark McNeill is making his way up the Chicago depth chart. (courtesy of Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

It’s no secret the Chicago Blackhawks have a knack for scouting and developing young talent. In fact, it is one of the prime reasons the Blackhawks have been one of the premiere franchises in the NHL for the past seven seasons. Due to this success, they continue to draft near the end of each round. Nevertheless, general manager Stan Bowman has managed to assemble an impressive system at nearly every position.

While Chicago Blackhawks fans are expecting nothing less than a championship parade come June, there is another concern lingering in the back of everyone’s mind. The salary cap is projected to rise only to around $73 million for the 2015-16 season, which means fans should expect to see somebody make their way out of Chicago.

Photo: Vancouver Canucks fifth-round pick Frank Corrado is making a case for more NHL games. (Courtesy of Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)

Led by standout performances from AHL veterans Jacob Markstrom, Dustin Jeffrey, Bobby Sanguinetti, and Cal O’Reilly, the Utica Comets hit the All-Star break in third place in the Western Conference but have games in hand on all competing teams. The Comets feature a combination of experience and young talent, creating a balanced roster that looks ready to push for a Calder Cup.

Photo: Team Slovakia goaltender Denis Godla played a major role in helping his country win bronze at the 2015 World Junior Championship, and was named the tournament’s best goaltender for his efforts (courtesy of Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

You only had to look at the shaking young kids who stood at their blueline as they listened to their anthem being played to see that the World Junior Championship is one of, if not the biggest stages on earth for a young, developing hockey prospect. The whole hockey world was watching. Read more»